NEW DELHI: Lots of traders and market old hands use Deepawali as a reference point to record how they and the markets have fared in a year.

This is a legacy from days when traders and businesses used to end the financial year at the change of the lunar 'Samvat' year on Deepawali.

'Muhurat Trading' is a centuries old tradition. The day holds significance as it marks the beginning of the New Year, as per Hindu calendar, or Samwat 2069.

Markets have posted a respectable 10 per cent gain since the last time we celebrated the festival of lights but that, reassuring as it may be, is not a spectacular return.

Interest rates remain high as ever and 10 per cent return just doesn't cut it for investors anymore.

What gives a chartist hope is that the markets, though may have not done too much, have put in higher bottoms on the chart all through the last Samvat and that augurs well for the year ahead.

The Nifty has managed to hold its own in the face of strong headwinds from Europe and elsewhere and has inched above critical resistances and that too points to a strong market setup.

Going by the charts, it will be fair to expect markets to make a new all time high in the Samvat year 2069 and that should be good news for the investors in the festive season.

Muhurat trading on Tuesday will be the time to buy into some strong stocks that can light up your portfolio. So here are some cracker ideas to get you started. We have handpicked five stocks which look poised to give stellar returns in Samvat 2069.

1) Buy HDIL - Place a stop loss below Rs 89 and a target of Rs 145 for a 12 month period. The stock shows some strong signs of accumulation on its long term charts and has formed a base for itself around the current levels.

2) Buy Pantaloon Retail -- Place a stop loss below Rs 170 and a target of Rs 280. The year on its way will be good for retail stocks, the legislation is in place and the space is getting hot. Strong chart formations and heavy volume point to a smart move up.

3) Buy Emami-- Place a stop loss below Rs 565 with a target of Rs 825. Emami has got a great chart and FMCG is in favor. Stock seems all set to keep making new highs.